PAY HIKE

Minister Zokwana hikes his cattle herder's pay

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana, has announced that he has increased the salary of his cattle herder from R800 to R2 400, and has urged farmers to also do the same.

The minister announced this when he addressed guests at the Presidential Golf Challenge gala dinner at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Friday night.

His announcement comes after the media reported that he paid his cattle herder, Vuyolwethu Ndabambi, R800 a month, which is the equivalent of R26.30 a day.

Minister Zokwana said as the minister responsible for agriculture, he urged farmers to pay farm workers salaries that will help them put food on the table.

“I promoted my cattle herder in two days, from earning a salary of R800 to paying him R2 400 per month. And I make a call to all of you to honour those who work for you and pay them a better salary so that they can [give] a better service,” he said.

This brings Ndabambi’s salary in line with the minimum wage of R2 400, or R111.69 per day, as stipulated by the sectoral determination committee.

All farm workers are covered by sectoral determinations, which stipulate the minimum wages that must be paid to workers defined as vulnerable.

The minister said, meanwhile, that South Africa had come a long way since 1994, from a country deeply entrenched in racism and crippled by lack of services such as electricity, water, houses and roads, to one where black and white people treat each other as equals, and where people’s lives are much better than before as far as service delivery is concerned.

He urged guests to keep on telling the good South African story every opportunity they get.